Shark Cartilage

Contrary to the claims of people who market shark cartilage as a cure for cancer, sharks contract a wide variety of cancers--including chondromas, or cancers of the cartilage--according to a Johns Hopkins researcher. Biologist Gary Ostrander told a San Francisco meeting of the American Assn. for Cancer Research on Wednesday that more than 40 types of tumors have been documented in sharks and related fishes like skates and rays.

September 20, 2011 | By Rosie Mestel, Los Angeles Times / For the Booster Shots blog

An extract from sharks seems to fight a broad array of viruses, according to a study published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The chemical, called squalamine, was discovered in 1993 by Dr. Michael Zasloff, now at Georgetown University Medical Center and the lead investigator of the paper. He's been studying it ever since, mostly for its immune properties. Working with a variety of scientists at Georgetown, UCLA and elsewhere, Zasloff and his colleagues tested the ability of squalamine to fight off infections by a variety of viruses including dengue virus, yellow fever and hepatitis A, B and D. Some of the experiments were done in tissue culture cells of various types: human liver cells for the hepatitis viruses, for example, and human blood vessel cells for the dengue virus. In other cases, such as yellow fever and cytomegalovirus, the tests were done in hamsters and mice.

Shark cartilage is just what it sounds like: cartilage from sharks. The cartilage, which is ground up and stuffed into capsules or pressed into tablets, is composed of collagen, water, phosphate, calcium and chondroitin sulfate. It may not sound like a magic elixir, but some extravagant claims about the power of shark cartilage have been made over the last decade.

Shark cartilage is just what it sounds like: cartilage from sharks. The cartilage, which is ground up and stuffed into capsules or pressed into tablets, is composed of collagen, water, phosphate, calcium and chondroitin sulfate. It may not sound like a magic elixir, but some extravagant claims about the power of shark cartilage have been made over the last decade.

Shark cartilage has been called everything from a miracle cancer cure to utter quackery. Now science is weighing in. The National Cancer Institute has announced the launch of a large, randomized clinical trial to test the effects of shark cartilage in patients with a type of lung cancer. More than 700 patients with non-small cell lung cancer will be recruited at about 50 research sites in the United States and Canada.

Federal regulators last week cracked down on two New Jersey-based companies that were promoting shark cartilage products as cancer treatments. The Federal Trade Commission ordered Lane Labs-USA and Cartilage Consultants to stop promoting their shark cartilage products. The agency also fined Lane Labs $1 million for false advertising.

September 20, 2011 | By Rosie Mestel, Los Angeles Times / For the Booster Shots blog

An extract from sharks seems to fight a broad array of viruses, according to a study published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The chemical, called squalamine, was discovered in 1993 by Dr. Michael Zasloff, now at Georgetown University Medical Center and the lead investigator of the paper. He's been studying it ever since, mostly for its immune properties. Working with a variety of scientists at Georgetown, UCLA and elsewhere, Zasloff and his colleagues tested the ability of squalamine to fight off infections by a variety of viruses including dengue virus, yellow fever and hepatitis A, B and D. Some of the experiments were done in tissue culture cells of various types: human liver cells for the hepatitis viruses, for example, and human blood vessel cells for the dengue virus. In other cases, such as yellow fever and cytomegalovirus, the tests were done in hamsters and mice.

Many people have been seduced into using over-the-counter shark cartilage preparations to treat cancer by the bestselling 1992 book "Sharks Don't Get Cancer" (Avery Publishing Group). The title, of course, is wrong: Sharks do get cancer. Nevertheless, some evidence suggests that something in shark cartilage is useful in fighting tumors.

Fresno State University researchers are studying shark cartilage in hopes of isolating a protein that could fight cancer. The research is based on a theory that a protein in cartilage might be able to block the growth of capillaries, tiny blood vessels that tumors need to thrive but which are basically absent from cartilage.

Shark cartilage has been called everything from a miracle cancer cure to utter quackery. Now science is weighing in. The National Cancer Institute has announced the launch of a large, randomized clinical trial to test the effects of shark cartilage in patients with a type of lung cancer. More than 700 patients with non-small cell lung cancer will be recruited at about 50 research sites in the United States and Canada.

Federal regulators last week cracked down on two New Jersey-based companies that were promoting shark cartilage products as cancer treatments. The Federal Trade Commission ordered Lane Labs-USA and Cartilage Consultants to stop promoting their shark cartilage products. The agency also fined Lane Labs $1 million for false advertising.

Contrary to the claims of people who market shark cartilage as a cure for cancer, sharks contract a wide variety of cancers--including chondromas, or cancers of the cartilage--according to a Johns Hopkins researcher. Biologist Gary Ostrander told a San Francisco meeting of the American Assn. for Cancer Research on Wednesday that more than 40 types of tumors have been documented in sharks and related fishes like skates and rays.

With Americans increasingly turning to the Internet for medical information, federal officials announced stepped-up efforts Thursday to counter fraudulent online claims that promise to cure ailments from arthritis to AIDS. More than 20 million Americans look to the Internet for health information--70% of them before visiting a doctor's office, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

Many people have been seduced into using over-the-counter shark cartilage preparations to treat cancer by the bestselling 1992 book "Sharks Don't Get Cancer" (Avery Publishing Group). The title, of course, is wrong: Sharks do get cancer. Nevertheless, some evidence suggests that something in shark cartilage is useful in fighting tumors.

With Americans increasingly turning to the Internet for medical information, federal officials announced stepped-up efforts Thursday to counter fraudulent online claims that promise to cure ailments from arthritis to AIDS. More than 20 million Americans look to the Internet for health information--70% of them before visiting a doctor's office, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

Dr. Luigi Di Bella, 90, the Italian physician known for his controversial, unsuccessful attempts to cure cancer, died Tuesday in Modena, Italy, of respiratory problems. Although not trained in cancer research, Di Bella began experimenting with melatonin, generally considered a sleep aid, to treat cancer in the 1960s. Over the years, he developed Di Bella Multitherapy, a drug cocktail of up to 100 chemicals including melatonin, beta-carotene, Vitamin D and shark cartilage.

Fresno State University researchers are studying shark cartilage in hopes of isolating a protein that could fight cancer. The research is based on a theory that a protein in cartilage might be able to block the growth of capillaries, tiny blood vessels that tumors need to thrive but which are basically absent from cartilage.